darrenyeats wrote: > I did some blind listening last week coax versus TOSLINK out of the SBT > into DAC1. Not perfect because I was alone - I ended up spinning my DAC1 > remote with my eyes closed but I confused myself enough to have no idea > what was what on the various attempts with various tracks, but I suppose > subconsciously anything's possible. > > I was able to zone in on differences blind and preferred the coax every > time. FWIW we are talking really subtle perceived changes but here is > the character of them. I'm not trying to wind you up Julf! The coax > seemed to have in effect a cleaner bass and treble, I suppose the > overall effect was of a more prominent mid, but it might have been just > an imaging difference with the some of the mid content being projected > more forward (the image depth was still good when there was stuff going > on behind) and a cleaner sound. The TOSLINK sounded -as if- it had a bit > more bass/treble and a recessed mid, perhaps in image terms or > otherwise, I don't know. It sounded a bit more glassy and echoey like a > very soft bass and treble lift but subjectively in a slightly messy way. > As I said, "slightly"! I AM NOT SAYING THE INTERFACE CHANGES FREQUENCY > RESPONSE. These are differences in my perception, the mechanisms for > what I perceived are probably complicated. My impressions should not be > interpreted as technical statements, they are just mental constructs > (and subtle). > > I'd be interested to hear Eduardoo's subjective impressions to see if > they are wildly different, similar or the same! I wouldn't be surprised > if end perceptions are quite system and person dependent. > > Don't know why it is that way. > > Note that Ken Rockwell has measured very small but real differences > between the various DAC1 interfaces (the USB was an especial outlier for > some reason) and there are tiny differences in performance with the SBT > between the interfaces too.
I find the coaxial to be better extended and cleaner, with a slightly bigger soundstage, and darker silence. The Toslink, sounds a little warmer and rounder, which I sometimes use for listening to old pop recordings. Not night and day differences, just very subtle but repeatable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ eduardoo's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=25850 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=100850 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
